


Here's To Our Redemption

by WingIt



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Prison, Angst with a Happy Ending, Ballerina!Yuri, Drug Addiction, Fights, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, M/M, Secret Relationship, brief victor/chris, prison guard!otabek, prisoner!yuri
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-05
Updated: 2017-08-04
Packaged: 2018-12-11 06:27:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11708733
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WingIt/pseuds/WingIt
Summary: At seventeen years old, aspiring ballerina Yuri Plisetsky had a hundred responsibilities weighing on his shoulders. At eighteen years old, the responsibilities crushed him and he self-destructed in the worst way. Now, at nineteen years old, Yuri is paying the price for it.Serving a nine month prison sentence before reaching his twenties was not on Yuri's life plan but this is where he finds himself. His days are now filled with crappy food, crappier inmates and a pair of dark eyes that follow him wherever he goes.Yuri has no idea what this Officer Altin's problem with him is or why he keeps staring. And now, with his safety net Victor suddenly busy making heart eyes at the new inmate Katsuki, Yuri finds himself feeling unbearably, inescapably alone.





	Here's To Our Redemption

Good food is something that Yuri took for granted during the first eighteen years of his life. Warm pirozhki straight from the fryer, baked with love and enough oil to put an egotistical bodybuilder to shame. Comforting borscht filled with vegetables that his grandfather had added to make sure Yuri was getting all of the nutrients he needed. Sweet syrniki drowned in strawberry varenye, syrupy and delicious.

Basically, any food that doesn’t look like snot or taste like barf.

Yuri drops his fork, ignoring the way it splatters the mush on his tray and the subsequent glare that Georgi shoots his way. Yuri doesn’t give a shit; he’s got better things to think about than lousy food and a melodramatic weirdo.

Turning his attention to the rest of the cafeteria instead, Yuri rests a cheek on his palm and huffs. It’s another typical morning in this fluorescent hell, surrounded by loud fucking morons and cliques so dumb and rigid that Yuri sometimes feels as though he’s still in school.

But this is a far cry from school. You can go _home_ after a shitty day at school.

Yes, Yuri is more than aware that he has brought all of this on himself. He knows full well that he is the only one responsible for his being here. He has learned better than anyone that bad decisions lead to bad consequences and no amount of wishful thinking or making excuses will change that. Unfortunately, that doesn’t make him any less bitter, and a scowl remains firmly fixed upon his features.

Georgi lets him quietly sulk, and there isn’t anybody else at the table yet today to pester Yuri either. His breakfast goes neglected and he occupies his mind for a few brief minutes by gazing around.

JJ is the first to capture his attention, as always. Hard not to with that giant trap he calls a mouth. He’s sitting at the centre table with his little gang of freaks, voice far louder than everyone else’s as he chatters away about something dumb. Yuri tunes it out, having learned how to do so within a week of JJ arriving here. JJ hasn’t been here for long, only got incarcerated around six weeks ago, but already he has gained a small following and is well-known amongst the inmates. He seems to be harmless enough aside from the overconfidence and sheer stupidity, but Victor is keeping an eye on him just in case.

Yuri’s eyes move on, and land on a single figure at the corner table who is hunched over his tray. Seung-gil. He’s been in lockdown for the past month for undisclosed reasons and ever since he got back three days ago he’s been… weird. As in, weirder than he was before. He keeps to himself (Yuri isn’t even sure if he’s ever heard the guy speak) and spends a large portion of his time staring unblinkingly at the other inmates. Watching. Analysing.

Nobody knows why he is in here. Since none of them have access to the truth a series of rumours have been created instead, all wild and completely implausible but honestly, Yuri wouldn’t put _anything_ past Seung-gil. Personally, Yuri is a believer in the robot theory but Seung-gil is probably just one of those standard psychopathic serial killers usually seen in horror movies.

Yuri looks away before Seung-gil senses him, wanting to leave the cafeteria today still in one piece. He turns in the opposite direction instead, eyeing the guards that stand at the doors. One of them, a young woman with vibrant red hair, is talking away about something but the guard who stands beside her doesn’t appear to be listening.

This guard is relatively new, only got hired a month or so ago, but already he has left an impression on many of the inmates. He’s incredibly stoic, takes absolutely zero bullshit and is even stricter about enforcing rules than Yakov Feltsman, Yuri’s counsellor. The inmates don’t dislike the new guard though. Yuri imagines it’s probably to do with the fact that the guard is young, doesn’t tend to raise his voice and never treats any of them cruelly or unfairly.

Also, the guard is pretty fucking hot, so that doesn’t hurt his rep either. Some of the other inmates often try to flirt with him (to no avail) or befriend him in some way but the guard never shows a single shred of interest in any of them.

Or at least, Yuri thinks.

Of course it may just be his mind which is slowly turning on him and going crazy after ninety-one days confined within this bullshit place, but Yuri _swears_ he keeps catching this guard looking at him. He can sense the guard’s eyes on him whenever they’re in the same room, staring with an unreadable expression, but whenever Yuri looks back the guard turns away.

Just like now. The guard’s head is tilted in Yuri’s direction as Babicheva, the female guard, continues to talk. His face is channelled into a neutral expression but even from several metres away Yuri can see how the guard’s eyes are pensive and searching, though what they’re searching for, Yuri has no idea.

As predicted, the guard turns away as soon as their eyes meet.

Yuri bristles, and breaks the silence at the table for the first time this morning by asking Georgi, “What’s that guard’s name again?”

Georgi blinks up at him before turning to glance over his shoulder. “Oh. That’s Altin. Why?”

Yuri shrugs and doesn’t respond. He has no idea what this Officer Altin’s problem is with him but it’s left him with the unsettling sensation of having snakes in his stomach.

Their table suddenly jolts, and Yuri’s eyes dart up in time to see Chris plop down gracelessly on the seat beside Georgi.

“Good morning, beauties,” Chris greets them with an easy smirk, placing his tray onto the table and starting to eat.

The seat next to Yuri’s gets pulled out too and Victor settles himself down, shooting Yuri a quick smile before picking up his fork. Yuri only rolls his eyes; the flush of Victor’s cheeks and Chris’ smug expression is enough of an explanation as to why the two of them are so late to breakfast.

“And where have you two been?” Georgi asks with a raised eyebrow.

Victor and Chris exchange a knowing look which Yuri quickly interrupts.

“Don't you dare," he snaps. “This is where we eat. I already have a hard time keeping this shitty food down; I don’t need you two making it worse for me.”

Victor and Chris only laugh.

“You’re right, you’re right,” Chris says, leaning over the table to give Yuri’s arm a patronising pat. “It’s wrong of us to talk about such filth in front of a kid.”

Yuri’s age is a common thing for him to be teased about since he is one of the youngest inmates here. It gets old pretty fast. “I’m nineteen, moron.”

“Exactly. A teeny baby.”

Yuri opens his mouth to retort, always ready to bicker with Chris, when the bell rings out signalling the end of breakfast. Chairs immediately start scraping the floor as everyone gets up and Victor and Chris both groan, neither of them having chance to properly get started on their food.

“I told you we didn’t have enough time this morning,” Victor scolds Chris as he sneaks the orange off his tray into his pocket.

“Hey,” Chris says with a frown as he shoves a huge forkful of food into his mouth. “It’s not my fault you take forever to come.”

Yuri gags. “You make me fucking sick, Giacometti.”

Chris’ frown immediately turns into a smirk. “I know. I love it.”

Yuri grabs his tray and marches away from them without bothering to respond, stomach sinking when he thinks about the crappy day of work he has ahead of him surrounded by losers and freaks.

Day ninety-one in St. Petersburg Penitentiary.

X

For an hour every day, all of the inmates are sent out to the yard for fresh air and exercise. It’s not the worst time of the day exactly, but it is the most irritating, with ‘exercise’ being reduced to nothing but weight-lifting competitions between the heavier inmates. Yuri had loved exercising when he was on the outside; cardio, stretches, yoga, ballet, dance… anything to make his body feel alive. Free.

He can’t do any of that here, though. Executing a perfect arabesque alongside these sweaty morons all killing themselves with crunches? Yuri may as well wear a giant placard that says ‘Please kick the living shit out of me’.

So he mournfully neglects his exercise, instead going for easy runs and then practising the splits behind the library shelves where he has some privacy.

He spends a large portion of the hour in the yard watching the others. It’s kind of entertaining from a safe distance, seeing the others push themselves to their breaking points just to feel a brief moment of superiority. JJ is particularly insufferable to watch, always shirtless no matter the weather and flashing his dumb tattoos as he boasts to the others about the impressive capacity of his strength.

A hand on Yuri’s waist startles him, heart skipping a beat as he snaps his head away from the scene before him. The tension quickly drains away when he sees it’s only Victor, whose eyes are narrowed and focused on Michele and JJ. The two of them are getting heated, sizing each other up and spitting words that skate a very thin line between playful banter and genuine aggression.

“You should move away before they get over-excited,” Victor tells him.

Yuri rolls his eyes, but allows Victor to lead him away to the fences where there are no other inmates around. They can still see the others from here but the sound is muffled, calming Yuri’s heart rate somewhat and allowing him to pretend he’s watching a silent theatre show. It’s kind of comforting, to imagine he’s nothing more than an audience member instead of a participant in the weird play he’s living in.

Victor sits down on the ground, back against the fence and legs outstretched. He pats the space between his legs without even looking at Yuri, still staring intently at the other inmates. Yuri has long since stopped protesting against Victor’s silent instructions, knowing its way less of a ball ache to just go along with it. His energy drains faster in here than it used to on the outside.

He sits with his back to Victor’s torso, wriggling about to get comfortable and ignoring Victor’s small huff when Yuri’s hair ends up in his face.

Neither of them starts a conversation. There’s no need to. There’s always been a shared sense of understanding between the two of them ever since Yuri arrived here three months ago and Victor is the one person who Yuri doesn’t feel as though he has to put on an act around. He’s comfortable being quiet or moody or irritable or hostile, because Victor never seems to mind either way.

Yuri has learned to see this as a privilege. When he first arrived here he’d been out of control, mouthing off at the guards and lashing out at other inmates, getting into fights and receiving punishments left, right and centre. His bitterness had overpowered him. But Victor had been there from the start, wearing a patient expression that’d made Yuri try to land a punch on that perfect face a number of times before he’d finally calmed down enough to lower his fists.

Victor is safe. Yuri had been scared to death by every inmate he saw to begin with but he’d quickly warmed to Victor (though he didn’t dare show it for several long weeks for fear of looking weak). The two of them share the same first language which had been a small comfort to Yuri, and with how long Victor has been in prison, there wasn’t anything that he couldn’t explain to Yuri or help him out with.

Victor is also one of the few people here who isn’t completely batshit fucking crazy. He’s got a good lid on his temper and only becomes aggressive when severely provoked. He’s one of the most respected prisoners and the leader of their particular clique, but he’s an airheaded goofball in private. He’s never forced Yuri to have sex with him in exchange for his protection, and he’s never treated him unkindly.

Yuri counts himself lucky that Victor found his initial bad temper and outbursts amusing rather than annoying, because he doesn’t think he’d like to have Victor as an enemy.

He settles himself more comfortably against Victor, still observing the other inmates across the yard. It looks as though JJ and Michele have progressed passed verbal mocking and are now pushing and shoving each other. JJ’s boisterous laugh rings out across the yard, and the sound pierces Yuri’s ears.

“Fuck, he pisses me off so much,” Yuri grumbles.

Victor’s tone is mild and uninterested. “He seems harmless enough.”

“That doesn’t stop him being an insufferable douchebag. And he’s gonna get a shot now.” A shot is a write up that inmates receive when they break certain rules or cause disturbances, and several shots will lead to a bigger punishment. Yuri has had his own fair share of shots in his time here, mostly at the beginning of his sentence when his disregard for his own well-being had been at an all-time high. “Who’s the guard on duty?”

Yuri scans the grounds for a brief moment before his eyes land on a familiar, stoic figure. _Ugh_.

Officer Altin is there, dark eyes already trained on Yuri and Victor. As usual, as soon as he notices he’s been seen, he looks away.

The irritated sigh puffs out of Yuri before he even realises, and Victor is immediately alert.

“Is there a problem?”

“That guard over there,” Yuri says quietly, as though he’s worried Altin can hear him from twenty something meters away.

“What about him?”

Yuri shrugs, gaze falling to his lap. “It’s probably me being paranoid but… I swear he’s watching me.”

He feels Victor tense up behind him, so he sharply pokes him in the leg. “Chill out, okay? He never _does_ anything, he just… stares.”

“Has he said something?”

“No, nothing.”

Victor is quiet for a long moment, and Yuri doesn’t need to look at him to know that he’s evaluating Officer Altin.

Eventually, Victor lets out a quiet exhale. “I’ll keep an eye on him.”

Victor does this a lot, ‘keeping an eye’ on people. He likes to be aware of everything that’s going on and he’s extremely good at reading people. Must be from his years of experience working for the mafia.

It’s one of the main reasons why Yuri is glad to have Victor as a friend. Victor has been in here enough years to know how things work, he’s got information on pretty much every guard and member of staff, he knows how to handle each kind of inmate that walks through the door. Even though Victor is quiet and pretty, he is clever and has managed to gain the respect of most other inmates.

A true king of the castle.

And if there’s one thing that Yuri knows for sure, it’s that nothing will stop Victor from trying to protect the few people he cares about, and there’s really no point in Yuri trying to fight him on it.

“Fine,” is all Yuri says, shooting one last look at Altin. Victor doesn’t push the subject any further, and Yuri allows his attention to return back to the small fight that’s breaking out amongst the others.

All he can hope for is that Officer Altin’s motives towards him are not unsavoury.

X

Yuri isn’t in the mood for the obnoxious hustle and bustle of dinner tonight. The loud, incessant voices of so many other inmates have a way of getting under Yuri’s skin like an itch he can’t scratch. His irritability has always been something that he struggles to suppress healthily, and it’s these times in particular when he desperately misses having something to… take the edge off.

But that’s not an option in here, nor is it a slope he wants to slip down again anyway.

Instead, he lowers his head and picks away at the mush on his tray. Victor sits beside him and leaves him to stew, understanding that Yuri needs a little space when he’s feeling highly strung like this. Chris and Georgi are the ones to provide the noise at their table, chatting and bickering about something that Yuri hasn’t bothered to pay attention to.

“Oh, I spy a newbie,” Chris suddenly says, eyes landing on a figure somewhere behind Yuri as a familiar smirk spreads across his features. “Aw, a little baby duckling. He looks lost. _Hey, duckling!”_

Yuri rolls his eyes, feeling vaguely sorry for whoever is on the receiving end of Chris’ attention. He carries on dissecting his meal.

Chris is still pestering the poor inmate behind them, whistling and beckoning the person over with his hand. “C’mon, duckling! We won’t hurt you.”

Yuri feels a gentle puff of air as someone passes him, glancing up to assess them as they quietly take the seat opposite him. It’s a young Asian guy, clutching his tray in a death grip as he blinks at everyone with widened eyes. Yuri suddenly understands why he’d caught Chris’ attention; he looks like a frightened rabbit caught in headlights. Easy prey.

Chris looks _thrilled_ with his new catch. He props his elbow on the table and rests his chin on his fist as he gazes over the tense newbie, lips tilted up at the corners.

“H-hello,” the newbie finally mumbles.

“Hi,” Chris says with an easy smile. “What’s your name, sweetheart?”

“Yuuri,” he says before suddenly looking flustered. “I-I mean, Katsuki. Are you… does everyone use surnames here instead?”

Chris shrugs. “Some do. We don’t. It’s very nice to meet you, _Yuuri.”_

Yuri’s mood dips another ten or so levels, mind swirling darkly. Great, someone with the same name as him. _That_ won’t get annoying.

Yuuri looks as though he can’t decide whether to trust Chris or not, saying in a hesitant tone, “Nice to meet you, too. Um…?”

“Chris.”

Yuuri nods. “Chris.”

“I’m Victor!” Victor pipes up, making Yuri blink sideways at him with an incredulous expression. Since when does Victor ever voluntarily speak to the other inmates, and why is he wearing that stupid, big smile?

Yuuri’s eyes soften when they meet Victor’s, and he smiles in response. “Hi, Victor.”

They both stare at each other for several seconds before Chris speaks again, gesturing to Georgi and Yuri. “And this is Georgi, and hey, we’ve got another Yuri as well.”

“Hello,” Yuuri greets the both of them politely, before turning his attention back to Victor.

Chris isn’t finished with him yet, though. “Now, forgive me for being so invasive, and trust me when I say I don’t ask everyone this when they first arrive, but what did you do to get yourself in here? You seem so… sweet. Shy.”

Yuuri straightens up in his seat. “Its okay, I’m not ashamed of what I did. I don’t mind if you ask me.”

“Are you one of those extreme political protestors or something?” Georgi frowns.

“Not exactly,” Yuuri says. “I _was_ protesting against something, though. I don’t know if you ever heard of the Safe Haven for Dogs Rescue Center?”

Yuri raises a suspicious eyebrow. He’s not sure if he’s ready for where this story is going.

“Well,” Yuuri continues. “The name is very misleading since it is definitely _not_ a safe haven for those dogs. The owners are extremely neglectful, the dog cages are _tiny_ and there is never enough food because the owners would rather put the money towards a new designer pair of shoes for themselves instead.”

“So you were protesting to get it closed down?” Chris asks.

“At first, yes.” Yuuri shifts in his seat. “But the process was moving too slowly for my liking, so I decided to take matters into my own hands.”

There’s a brief, very anxious silence at the table.

“Did you… murder them?” Georgi finally asks.

Yuuri looks startled. “No! I broke into the shelter one night and freed all of the dogs. There were about twenty of them, a few went home with my friends and the others stayed in my family’s back yard until homes could be found for them. They were given plenty of food and a nice outdoor space to run around in. I saved them all.”

“I love dogs!” Victor says, still with a wide smile plastered across his face. “I would’ve done the same thing; it was very brave of you to help them like that.”

Yuuri smiles back, leaning closer over the table and saying excitedly, “What kind of dogs do you like? I love them all but I used to have a poodle who –”

“Wait a second,” Chris interrupts. “I’m gonna need a little more information, Doctor Dolittle. You broke into a shelter and staged an epic dog rescue mission, great, but how did that land you in prison?”

“Well…” Yuuri suddenly looks shifty, looking down at his tray and fiddling with his knife and fork. “When I got the dogs out I was running pretty high on adrenaline, and I suppose it made me a little clumsy.”

“Clumsy, how?”

Yuuri blinks at them, face the pinnacle of innocence. “I might have accidentally broken a window. Or two. With a shovel.”

Chris bursts out laughing, Victor still looks enchanted and Yuri can’t help suppressing a snigger of his own. He hides it as best as he can though. He has a _reputation_ of sorts to uphold.

Yuuri smiles weakly to himself. “I can’t say I’m _thrilled_ to be in here but as far as I’m concerned, I saved twenty lives that night. That’s what’s important.”

“How long have you got?” Chris asks.

“Eight months.”

“Hardly anything.” Chris rubs Yuuri’s back. “You’ll be out in no time.”

“Tell us more about your poodle,” Victor says, leaning his cheek against his hand.

Yuuri beams, and the two of them begin to chatter away about their pet poodles. Chris and Georgi quickly lose interest and start to eat but Yuri continues to watch Victor and Yuuri in bewildered silence.

He’s never seen Victor like this before. He hasn’t stopped smiling since Yuuri sat down. He’s actually voluntarily having a conversation with a random inmate? A disgustingly charming conversation about dogs, at that? He looks more relaxed somehow, younger, and his eyes twinkle as he laughs softly at something that Yuuri says.

Yuri’s stomach drops. Ew. Does Victor have a _crush?_

It looks as though the feeling might be mutual, if Yuuri’s matching heart eyes are anything to go by. It’s making Yuri feel restless and unsettled, and he itches to yank Victor away before anything _develops_. Ugh, why is this sickly sweet interaction he’s witnessing making him want to flip a table and punch through the nearest wall?

Yuri knows exactly why. He’s jealous. Not in a romantic sense, fuck no, but ever since Yuri arrived here Victor has been _his_. His friend. His safety net. His only source of real comfort most of the time. The thought of some anxious newbie snatching that from him sends a wave of nausea rolling in his stomach.

Yuri suddenly hates Yuuri. Who does this guy think he is, waltzing in here like some kind of shovel-wielding dog saviour and trying to take away Yuri’s only friend?

Yuri turns away, fearing he won’t be able to bite his lip for much longer if he carries on listening.

His eyes land on Seung-gil for a moment, who is sitting at his usual corner table by himself. As though he can sense Yuri’s gaze, he glances up, and Yuri breaks the eye contact quickly for fear of drawing attention to himself as a potential target. That guy may be quiet but he still scares the shit out of him.

Yuri keeps looking; past JJ who is gesturing wildly and talking louder than anyone else at his table, and spots Officer Altin talking to one of the other guards, Officer Chulanont by the doors.

The snakes awaken inside his belly again, destroying the last of his appetite. Victor had said he would keep an eye on Altin but is he really going to be able to if he’s suddenly wrapped up in poodle paradise with the new guy? Would he notice if Altin tried anything?

Yuri swallows around the lump that rises in his throat. It’s funny, how even in a room with a hundred people in it, he still feels like the loneliest person in the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eeee otayuri prison AU! I've been sitting on this idea for months and I'm really excited about what I have planned. This chapter is really just to set the scene, there will be much more action in the next chapters I promise!
> 
> So yeah main pairing is Yuri and Otabek but I'm also gonna explore Yuri and Victor's friendship a lot in this as well because I think it's interesting!
> 
> The prison name is completely made up, I did think about calling it a yoi pun like The Grand Pri-son but I thought that'd be a little distracting lmao 
> 
> Kudos and comments are very much appreciated!
> 
> And my tumblr is [wing--it](http://wing--it.tumblr.com/) if you wanna say hi! <3


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